No one seems to know what's wrong with the Carolina Panthers, sweetheart

Update: Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler wrote about Cam calling a "female reporter" a sweetheart in a public forum. 

Newton sounded as frustrated afterward as he ever has following a loss, and that’s saying a good bit. The final question of his press conference was posed by a female reporter, asking him what the Panthers could do to score more points.
“I’m going to leave this room and I’m going to bring in a suggestion box and I want your suggestions to be in that suggestion box because I sure don’t know,” Newton said. “I really don’t. I wish I could tell you. But the only thing I control, sweetheart, is myself. Offensively, I am the leader of this bunch and we haven’t been getting the job done.”
Calling a female reporter “sweetheart” isn’t a good idea in a public forum, even in jest.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/21/3613191/when-winning-time-comes-something.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

Sunday afternoon, Bank of America Stadium became Cowboys Stadium North as the Cowboys and the Panthers squared off. Carolina fell to 1-5 for the season.

“We have to play better overall,” wide receiver Steve Smith said before the bye week. “That’s the straight up answer. The only thing that’s acceptable is to play better.”

However, that message didn’t seem to translate of the field in Sunday’s loss.

But the opportunity to have a post season bid is slipping from the Panthers grip as they are last in the NFC South and travel to Chicago Sunday to play the Bears, who are 4-1 and trounced Jacksonville last week 41-3. The Bears play the Detroit Lions on Monday night.

On Sunday, New Orleans beat Tampa Bay, improving to 2-4. The Panthers lone victory this season came against the Saints.

“The tale of this game when we watch it on tape will be about missed opportunities,” said head coach Ron Rivera. “Nobody said it was going to be easy. It’s not. We know that. We’re going to continue to work at it and look to change some things and we’ll find solutions. We just have to keep pounding away.”

What the changes and solutions are, no one seems to have an answer.

“I’m going to leave this room and bring in a suggestion box and I want your suggestions to be in that box because I sure don’t know.” Newton said. “The only thing I can control is myself. Offensively, I am the leader of this bunch and we haven’t been getting the job done.”

Defensive end Thomas Keiser sums it perfectly. “Right now things are really bad. But we’re going to figure it out and we’re going to get better.”

Newton, leader of the bunch as he calls himself, doesn't like to be asked questions that would require more of an "we don't know" answer. So when a certain woman reporter asked what do the Panthers need to do to show the dominance on the field that he kept talking about, he called her -- and by her I mean me -- sweetheart.

Borderline sexist. Insulting. Not a good look, Cam.
And yes, there is video. 

Because I want to help a brother out, let me give Cam and all those men out there a list when sweetheart is appropriate and inappropriate:

• Appropriate Sweetheart: "Hi, sweetheart, I got this from Tiffany's for you."
• Inappropriate Sweetheart: "Sweetheart, this is football."
•  Appropriate Sweetheart: "Sweetheart, would you like me to run your bath?"
• Inappropriate Sweetheart: "Sweetheart, I can only control what I do."
• Appropriate Sweetheart: "Sweetheart, did you hear what I said? I love you."
• Inappropriate Sweetheart: Calling a woman YOU DON'T KNOW sweetheart. Try ma'am, miss or lady.
• Appropriate Sweetheart: "Sweetheart, I love your book."
• Inappropriate Sweetheart: Calling a professional sports writer Sweetheart because your offense is, well, offensive.